Double Nomination for Rourke, as CFL Announces Team Award Winners
CFL B.C. Lions

Double Nomination for Rourke, as CFL Announces Team Award Winners

Published on October 22, 2025 under Canadian Football League (CFL)
B.C. Lions News Release


(Vancouver) - The Canadian Football League announced its team winners for the Most Outstanding Player Awards on Wednesday, as voted upon by the Football Reporters of Canada (FRC) and teams' head coaches. The Lions' nominees are as follows:

Most Outstanding Player: Nathan Rourke*

Most Outstanding Canadian: Nathan Rourke*

Most Outstanding Defensive Player: Mathieu Betts

Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman: Jarell Broxton*

Most Outstanding Special Teams Player: Sean Whyte

Most Outstanding Rookie: Robert Carter Jr.*

*denotes unanimous selection.

Rourke- entering week 21 just 78 passing yards shy of 5,000, Rourke has enjoyed an outstanding 2025 with 329 completions on 472 attempts (69.7 %) and 28 touchdowns across 15 starts.

Earlier this year, Rourke set the new single-season Canadian record for passing yards, previously held by Russ Jackson (3,641 yards in 1969), and became just the second Canadian in league history to eclipse 10,000 career passing yards.

The Victoria-born Rourke also leads all CFL quarterbacks with 559 rushing yards and ten touchdowns on 60 carries this season, a total that includes his career-best 70-yard touchdown run against Edmonton on October 17.

Rourke won CFL Most Outstanding Canadian in 2022, becoming just the third Canadian quarterback to do so after Jackson and Gerry Dattilio.

Betts- another key piece who has made an impact in his first full season back from the NFL, Betts has a CFL-leading 14 sacks, which are just four shy of his Canadian record set in the 2023 season.

The defensive end made history in 2025, becoming the first CFL player in over 30 years to record nine sacks across a three-game span. The Laval product has also recorded a career-high four forced fumbles this season.

Betts won CFL Most Outstanding Defensive Player in 2023.

Broxton- it's a third consecutive team nomination for the big left tackle after a regular season where he and the line paved the way for Rourke's solid output and helped James Butler rush for over 1,000 yards.

Broxton is also the CFL's highest-graded pass blocker by Pro Football Focus (PFF) at 81.7, was named to the weekly PFF Honour Roll on three occasions and to the All-Honour Roll for August.

Whyte- Mr. Automatic earns a third consecutive team nomination in the special teams category, entering the final week of action with a CFL-best 94.8 field goal percentage (37/39).

The clutch kicker has won two games via walk -off field goals this season, bringing his career total to nine. He has also moved past Terry Baker into tenth spot on the CFL's all-time scoring list, currently sitting at 2,217 points.

Whyte has also made good on 49 of 51 converts this season (96 %).

Carter Jr.- the defensive back turned plenty of heads as a rookie and made the play of the year, a spectacular one-handed leaping end zone interception in a July 27 contest against Hamilton.

His fifth interception of the season came last week against Edmonton and was returned 50 yards for a major. Carter has also recorded 50 defensive tackles and a forced fumble across 17 games.

The CFL will next announce the West and East Division finalists for these awards on Thursday, October 30. Winners will be unveiled on Thursday, November 13 during festivities for the 112th Grey Cup in Winnipeg.

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